1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates to stringed instruments, and more particularly to a locking bridge apparatus for a stringed instrument (e.g., guitar).
2. Description of the Related Art
A bridge is a device that supports the strings on a stringed musical instrument and transmits the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument. A tailpiece is a component on many stringed musical instruments that anchors one end of the strings that pass over a bridge, usually opposite the end with the tuning mechanism (e.g., on the headstock). The tailpiece anchors the strings, so the tailpiece should be strong enough to withstand the combined tension of the strings. The bridge and tailpiece, while serving separate purposes, work closely together to affect playing style and tone.
The Tune-o-matic (or TOM) bridge includes two adjustable posts that are screwed into the guitar body and a bar between these posts. The bar has six saddles, one per string. Each saddle has a groove where the string is held by the saddle. When fully assembled, each string sits astride a saddle, and the saddle thus “marks” the end of the vibrating string. Each saddle can be adjusted (moved back and forward) with a screw to control intonation. To prevent saddles from falling out of the bridge when no strings are installed, most models hold the saddles with a retainer wire or wires.
Some guitars have a stopbar to hold strings, others have “strings through the body” construction, which uses the body of the guitar to hold the end of the strings. After passing over the saddles, each string goes to the tailpiece (or through the instrument body). Since the introduction of the Tune-o-matic (TOM) bridge, different versions of the bridge have emerged, with some different parameters and properties (e.g., sizes, materials) between them. Two such styles are the ABR-1 bridge and the Modern TOM, or “Nashville” bridge.
Thus, a guitar bridge (e.g., a TOM bridge) is conventionally mounted to the instrument (e.g., guitar) using two bridge posts, which mount into respective grommets arranged on the instrument body. The bridge posts each have a planar support platform configured to support respective lower planar surfaces of respective ends of the bridge.
Each bridge post is height-adjustable via threaded engagement with the respective grommets, to adjust the heights of the respective support platforms on the bridge posts, so that a user may, for example, adjust the height of the bridge. For example, due to the bridge post's threaded engagement with the guitar body (or with a grommet on the body of the guitar), rotating the bridge post brings about a change in the platform height of the bridge post. The bridge is height-adjustable, for example to allow a user to modify the string heights (which are supported, for example between respective saddles in the bridge on one end and a nut at the other end) over the fret board.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,968 teaches a conventional bridge mounting system. As explained in this document, the bridge mounting system comprises two bridge posts, each have a planar support platform configured to support respective lower planar surfaces of respective ends of the bridge, lower threaded portion configured for threaded engagement in respective grommets on the body of the guitar, and upper mounting ends above the planar support platform. The bridge includes two cylindrical mounting holes (or receiving passages) on respective ends of the bridge configured to receive the upper mounting ends of the bridge posts, such that the bridge is supported on the planar support platforms of the bridge post.
As noted above, the bridge post is removably mounted into the instrument body by fastening the lower threaded portion into a threaded hole or grommet on the body of the guitar. Thus, the heights of the bridge posts and, consequently, the bridge arranged on the planar support platforms of the bridge posts may be adjusted by rotating the bridge posts up or down via the plate relative to the instrument body.
With conventional bridges, in order to maintain the desired maximum contact between the planar support platforms and the lower planar surfaces of the bridge, each of the bridge post heights must be set uniformly (i.e., of equal height to each other) so that the bridge retains a parallel orientation (i.e., relative to the upper surface of the guitar body). That is, only when the bridge is horizontally arranged (i.e., relative to the upper surface of the guitar body) do the surfaces of the planar support platforms and the lower planar surfaces of the bridge align to permit an areal engagement between the bridge and the bridge posts. In such a manner, the conventional bridge is unable to be adjusted to meet the wide variety of preferences of players.
Put another way, when a conventional bridge is mounted in an unparallel manner, the contact between the bridge and the bridge posts is reduced from areal contact to linear contact, which reduces the bridge assembly's ability to transfer the energy of the vibrating strings to and through the instrument. Thus, with current bridge assemblies, if a non-parallel bridge body orientation is desired, the bridge assembly is not operable to provide optimal contact between the bridge assembly components.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved bridge assembly that solves these above-noted deficiencies, provides improved performance and improved usability.